


Check Out

by confundedgryffindor



Series: Chicken Man [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Muggle, Angst, Bodybuilder Remus, Buff Remus, Depression, Dog adoption, F/M, I suppose, M/M, Remus eats a lot of chicken, Snuffles the dog, Tesco, remus is referred to as chicken man for the majority of the fic, sirius is depressed and works at tesco
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-29 15:31:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18781090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/confundedgryffindor/pseuds/confundedgryffindor
Summary: Why he ever chose to work in retail at a fucking Tesco was a mystery. Well no, it wasn’t. He was a broke sixteen year old living on the street with no choice but to work at Tesco. But why he chose to stay, however, was a mystery. He was twenty-fucking-seven and still sitting behind a counter, scanning food and mindlessly calling out “8.67 please,” when he had the potential and will to be something much more.The only thing that motivated him into staying was the bloke that came in every single Tuesday, buying the exact same thing over and over again. Rice, eggs, bananas, chicken, sriracha, spinach, frozen berries, milk and bags of mixed nuts. Every single time.-In which Sirius works at Tesco and Remus is a body builder who eats a lot of chicken.





	Check Out

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jennandblitz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jennandblitz/gifts), [Purplechimera](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purplechimera/gifts).



> so this is based on a conversation from the first episode of jenn's and purple's podcast [ Siriusly, Moons? ](https://open.spotify.com/show/30XcJrax77uoQcn741hioL?si=fpAExk_BQ3KL7846Hs9YXA) , so i decided to gfit the fic to them lmao, hope it lives up to your expectations!!
> 
> huge, huge thank you to [ rosielupin ](https://rosielupin.tumblr.com/) for being my beta reader and getting the tesco stuff right
> 
> this has been consuming all of my time for the past 4 days so i really hope you like it

“I can’t sell you cigarettes if you’re under eighteen,” Sirius repeated for the third time. The boy in front of him glared at Sirius and tapped his foot impatiently.

“I already told ya, didn’t I? I’m fucking eighteen, mate,” the boy huffed. Sirius took a deep breath. 

“Do you have identification to confirm that you are eighteen?” 

“I left it at home!”

Sirius wanted to punch him. He wanted to punch him straight on the nose and then go out for a cigarette break himself. He took another deep breath. 

“And since you can’t confirm your age and you look like you’re twelve, you better leave,” he tried to sound as calm as possible. “I can lose my job if I sell you smokes, now go,”

The boy huffed again as he rolled his eyes and stomped away. Sirius sighed as he started to ring up a bunch of cat food.

“I’m so sorry about that,” he sighed and looked up. An old lady smiled warmly at him and waved a dismissive hand. She smelled strongly of cats and cabbage, and Sirius had to plaster a smile on his face to keep himself from gagging. 

“Don’t worry, dear,” she said. Sirius just smiled stiffly and kept ringing up her items. 

Why he ever chose to work in retail at a fucking Tesco was a mystery. Well no, it wasn’t. He was a broke sixteen year old living on the street with no choice but to work at Tesco. But why he chose to stay, however, was a mystery. He was twenty-fucking-seven and still sitting behind a counter, scanning food and mindlessly calling out “8.67 please,” when he had the potential and will to be something much more.

The only thing that motivated him into staying was the bloke that came in every single Tuesday, buying the exact same thing over and over again. Rice, eggs, bananas, chicken, sriracha, spinach, frozen berries, milk and bags of mixed nuts. Every single time. 

It was, perhaps, a little worrying that Sirius knew exactly what this man bought, but it wasn’t that hard to memorise. The only thing that varied on this man’s receipt was the mix of fruit and vegetables, and that one time he bought a chocolate bar, which Sirius chuckled at and said, “Finally getting some variation in your diet?”

It was even easier to memorise considering how beautiful this man was. Tall and broad, always wearing the same zip-up hoodie and joggers. He had a sharp jawline, bright green eyes, a slightly too long nose and he was almost always smiling, showing off slightly uneven teeth. 

Perhaps it was even more worrying that Sirius had his entire face and style of clothing memorised, or perhaps it was just the universe telling him that he really needed to get laid. But it really was the highlight of his week, seeing that same, nameless guy, buying a ridiculous amount of chicken and spinach. 

Sirius checked the time as he, yet again, mindlessly scanned groceries. Hot, tall, chicken-eating man would probably be here in about an hour, which gave Sirius time to go on a smoke break in about fifteen minutes. 

“10,49, please,” Sirius looked up at the woman in front of him and smiled. He was so tired of smiling at strangers. He just wanted a smoke. 

It seemed to take forever before Sirius finally stood outside, holding his jacket tightly around himself as he tried to balance his phone and a cigarette in the same hand. He mindlessly scrolled through instagram, stopping every few seconds to take a drag from his cigarette. 

Everything he did these days seemed to be done mindlessly. Showering, eating, working, all done without really thinking. 

He needed,  _ wanted,  _ something more to think about. Someone to come home to, something more to look forward to other than a bloke coming in every Tuesday to buy groceries or dinners with the Potters every Saturday.

Maybe he should get a dog. Or a boyfriend. Or both. 

Sirius sighed before taking a drag from his cigarette, then he stubbed it out against the brick wall behind him and went back inside. He shrugged off his jacket and made his way back to the register, trying not to look as depressed as he actually was. 

He waved lazily at his co-worker, Janice, who had the register opposite of his, before setting right back to work.

Hot stranger would be there in fifteen minutes. 

Ten minutes.

Five minutes.

_ Chicken, spinach, bell peppers, frozen berries.  _ Sirius smiled, an actual, genuine smile, as he scanned the items and looked up. And there he was, tawny hair, broad shoulders, smiling the same, crooked smile. 

“No variation this week?” Sirius asked. He actually hated that small talk all shopkeepers tried to give, but there was something about this guy that apparently made him change his mind.

The guy laughed as he pulled his credit card out of his wallet, “Nope, not this week,”

Sirius glanced at the card, hoping to catch a glance at the name.  _ Lupin.  _ Hot, nameless guy, had a name. 

Well, of course he had a name. But now Sirius knew what it was. He smiled even wider as he scanned the plastic bags. 

“6,46, please,” Sirius said. The guy, Lupin, slotted his card into the machine and pressed in his code. “Receipt?”

“Uh, yeah,” Lupin smiled as Sirius handed him the receipt. “Cheers,”

“Have a nice day,” Sirius smiled and gave a small wave before setting to scan the other’s groceries.

“You too,” And that was it. There went the highlight of Sirius’ entire work week. Back to mindlessly scanning items and calling out the customer’s total, asking if they wanted a receipt, for another week before  _ Lupin _ . 

It felt good to finally have a name on him, though. Now he wasn’t just hot chicken-eating man, but Lupin. It was probably just his last name, but it was something.

When Sirius finally got home, he slumped down in his sofa. He scrubbed his hands over his face, pulled his hair out of his bun and threw his contacts on the floor. Because he was disgusting. 

He was still dressed in his work uniform, but he just didn’t want to get up. Not right now. Sirius pulled his phone out of his pocket and squinted at it as he pulled up Lily’s contact, pressed at it a little too forcefully, then pressed the phone against his ear.

_ “Mummy’s in the bath,”  _

“Oh, hiya Harry,” Sirius pinched the bridge of his nose. “‘S mummy in the bath?”

_ “Yeah,”  _ Harry was speaking way too close to the microphone and Sirius had to hold the phone an inch or two away from his ear. 

“Can you go give her the phone?” Sirius asked. “Or is your dad home?”

_ “Dad’s cooking,” _

“You’re not giving me very elaborate answers, Haz,” Sirius sighed. “Can I talk to your mum or dad?”

_ “Yeah,” _ Harry said, then took a deep breath.  _ “BAABAAAA!” _

“Oh my fucking god,” Sirius murmured, very quietly, and put the phone on speaker instead.

_ “Don’t yell in the house, Haz,” _

_ “Padfoot is on the phone,” _

“James I need to talk to you, stat,” Sirius groaned and ran a hand through his hair. There was some rustling on the other end of the phone.

_ “What’s up?”  _ James asked.

“Why is your wife in the bath when I need her emotional support?” Sirius laid down in the sofa, facing the backrest.

_ “Talk to me, mate,” _

“You’re too… ‘Never have dealt with depression’ for this problem,” Sirius said.

_ “You can still talk, you know. I’m your brother, aren’t I?”  _ James sounded a little hurt. Sirius sighed.

“Fine. I’m too fucking lonely for my flat and I still work at a fucking Tesco, and can therefore not afford anything to act as company,” Sirius said. “And when I rant too much to you, you get that hero complex flowing and you’ll offer buying me a dog out of nowhere,”

James was quiet for a while, then said,  _ “You should really get a dog, though. It would get you out of the flat,” _

“I can’t afford a dog when I work at a fucking Tesco, Prongs,” Sirius groaned. James sighed. 

_ “It sounds that you just doesn’t want to get help, mate,”  _ James said. 

“I just don’t want to be you charity case,” Sirius squeezed his eyes shut. “You’ve already done too much for me,”

_ “Getting you a home when you were homeless is too much?” _

“Yes!” Sirius exclaimed. “Well, no. It’s just… I dunno, mate. I’m tired of being alone,”

_ “So, let me buy a dog, and as payment you can babysit Harry on the weekends,”  _ James said.  _ “And you’ll pay for food and other stuff dogs need,” _

“Prongs, I can’t ask—“

_ “You’re not asking, I’m offering,”  _ James said.  _ “Or more like, I’m fucking begging you to get out of the flat,” _

“Fine,” Sirius sighed. “Fine! Should we plan more on Saturday before our dinner?”

_ “Yeah, sounds great,” _

“Great,” Sirius said. “Tell Lily to call me once she’s out of the bath. Tell her it’s about chicken man,”

_ “Chicken man?” _

“Yes,” Sirius pushed himself up into a sitting position. “Chicken man. Now, thank you for letting me kind of rant, I’m gonna go shower and eat a depressing single guy meal consisting of whatever I can find in my pantry. Bye,”

_ “Bye, see—,”  _ Sirius hung up the phone before James could finish the sentence. He didn’t feel like talking anymore. 

The next Tuesday couldn’t come any faster.

 

***

 

As the week droned on, Sirius realized, yet again, just how depressing his life was. 

He waved to Janice a couple of times, he managed to smoke two packs in three days, even though he was convinced that he had five cigarettes a day, he bought himself a chocolate bar, and on Friday he had a wank and then promptly curled up and started crying. And as Saturday arrived, getting a dog didn’t seem so bad, even if he couldn’t really afford it.

Sirius left his flat, dressed in something that made him feel a hundred times better than his work uniform, even if it just was a hoodie and jeans, and he actually felt quite good. 

He was going eat a real meal, talk about getting a dog and possibly play with Harry’s LEGO bricks. It was something to keep his mind off the next Tuesday, something to keep his mind off Lupin. 

Sirius lit a cigarette as he made his way to the bus stop and took a drag. His bus wouldn’t be there in at least fifteen minutes, and he was shivering slightly, but he felt quite good nonetheless. 

He took another drag and pulled out his phone, then realized that no one ever contacted him and slid it back into his pocket. Sighing, Sirius looked up again he saw— 

Lupin. 

Sirius’ eyes widened and his breath hitched in his throat, because  _ fuck.  _ Lupin wasn’t wearing joggers and a zip-up hoodie. No, he was dressed in a button up and nice slacks and  _ holy fuck _ , he looked good. 

Sirius couldn’t help but to stare, then he realized how strange it must be to have the bloke who works in checkout and you only see once a week to stare at you, and he quickly diverted his gaze to the ground. He pulled his hood up and took a drag from his cigarette, hoping that Lupin wouldn’t see him, at the same time as he hoped that Lupin would indeed see him and recognize him. Though he wondered how that conversation would go. 

_ “Oh hello, Lupin, you know my name from my name tag and I know your name from staring at your credit card. Funny story, I’ve been obsessed with you since I first checked out your groceries, and before I stared at your credit card, I referred to you at Hot chicken man. So yeah, anyways. Why do you eat so much chicken?”  _

Sirius shook his head. No. He was not going to randomly talk to a customer outside of work, hot or not. He took another drag from his cigarette, stubbed it out and decided to just wait for the bus. 

Sirius didn’t even bother with knocking once he arrived at the Potters’, he just swung the door opened and yelled, “I saw chicken man!” as a way of greeting. 

James peered out of the kitchen as Sirius kicked his shoes off. The house smelled of curry and rice, which seemed to be only thing James actually knew how to cook.

“Hello to you too, Pads,” James said. Sirius shrugged off his jacket and took his hood down, then enveloped James in a hug.

“Curry again?” Sirius asked when he let go. James nodded and went back into the kitchen. Sirius trailed after and as soon as he stepped foot over the threshold, he was attacked by Harry, who yelled out “PADFOOT!” as he wrapped his arms around Sirius’ legs. Sirius had to brace himself against the kitchen counter so he wouldn’t topple over and accidentally smush Harry. 

“Hey, Haz,” Sirius grinned at put his hand in Harry’s hair, then looked up at Lily who was seated at the table. “I saw chicken man, and he’s got a name,”

“Who’s chicken man?” Harry and James asked at the same time, James sounded genuinely exasperated. Sirius held up a hand to silence him as he took a seat opposite of Lily.

“What’s his name then?” Lily asked, grinning.

“Lupin, I saw it on his credit card and—,”

“What the ffff…-“ James began, then looked down at Harry, who was struggling to get up on the chair next to Sirius. “Frack. What the frack are you talking about?”

“Sirius’ mystery crush,” Lily grinned. Sirius glared at her.

“You have a mystery crush,” James said. “And you didn’t tell me,”

“It’s not a mystery crush,” Sirius said defensively. “It’s just… A bloke I find attractive,”

“And you still didn’t tell me,” James opened one of the cupboards and pulled out four plates, then put them on the table. 

“Well I didn’t come here to talk about him did I?” Sirius ran a hand through his hair. “We were supposed to be talking about getting me a dog. I just filled Lily in on the not-so juicy details as she wasn’t available on the phone the other day,”

“Right!” James exclaimed and put the pot of curry down on the table. “I res-,”

“Put a trivet on the table, James! You’ll ruin it!” Lily cut him off with a glare. James sighed and did as he was told before putting the rice on a trivet as well.

“As I said,” James continued as he put down cutlery and dinner glasses on the table. “I did some research, and you can adopt a rescue dog for about 140 pounds,” 

Sirius bit his nails. Technically, he could afford it himself, he just wouldn’t have a lot of money left for much else after that. 

“And we can help you pay for it all,” Sirius opened his mouth to protest. He couldn’t let them pay for an entire dog. James cut him off before he could even say anything, “But, since you obviously won’t let us, we’ll split it,” 

“Right,” Sirius nodded slowly and grabbed a plate. He could work with that. That was fine. 

“Can I pick the dog?” Harry asked excitedly. Sirius handed him a plate as well and smiled.

“I suppose so,” he looked at James and Lily, who both nodded. 

“When?”

“Uh, I can pick you up at school next Tuesday?” Sirius asked. “We’ll go pick one out and then I’ll bring your dad to adopt it some other day?”

He was getting a bit more excited about getting a dog. It would be nice. Something to come home to, something to give him company, something more than just wishful thinking about a man who came to the Tesco he worked at once a week. 

Tuesday couldn’t come any faster. 

 

***

 

Sirius was fairly sure that his face was set in a constant glare at the moment.

Today was officially the worst day ever, even though it was a Tuesday and he was both seeing Lupin and picking a dog.

Sirius’ alarm hadn’t gone off in time, causing him to miss his bus, which meant that he had to take a thirty minute walk in pouring rain without headphones, and life just felt like it was going downhill.

And now he was sitting here, behind the register, glaring at the items that he scanned. Janice hadn’t even bothered with waving at him, which must’ve been a sign that he indeed looked like the Grinch but in human form. 

“4.39 please,” Sirius didn’t even bother with smiling at the customer as he said it.

The woman in front of him dug through her wallet then frowned. 

“I’ve only got 3 pounds,” she said, not sounding particularly sorry about it. Sirius fought down a sigh. 

“Do you want me to remove an item to lower your total?” he asked. 

“No… I need it all,” 

He wanted to fucking cry. “Do you have a credit card on you?”

“No, sorry,”

“I’m gonna fucking cry,” Sirius whispered, then looked up at the woman. “I’ll have to remove an item, then,”

“Are you sure I just can’t pay the 3 pounds and come back and pay for the rest later?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Sirius said. “I can remove the pasta and your total would be exactly 3 pounds,”

The woman groaned dramatically, then let out a suffering, “Fiiine,” as she handed Sirius the three pounds. He was really going to cry.

“Receipt?”

“No, I’m good,” the woman said, then she stalked off.

Sirius swallowed hard and began mindlessly scanning items again. He really, really wanted to cry. Or a hug. Or both. Or perhaps a cigarette, even though he just went out for his break and Lupin would be there any second. 

_ Chicken, frozen berries…  _ Normally he would have smiled, his heart would have skipped a beat and he’d look up and see Lupin. But Sirius didn’t even bother with staring down at the groceries, trying to memorise them, he just glared at nothing in particular and kept scanning.

“8.68,” Sirius looked up, but he didn’t smile. He didn’t even force it. Lupin smiled though, a small, lopsided smile that, despite everything, caused Sirius’ heart to skip a beat. 

“No witty comment today?” Lupin asked, and maybe it was just Sirius reading into it, but he sounded a little concerned. Sirius shrugged. 

“I’m a little tired,” he said as he ripped the receipt from its machine. “Receipt?” 

“Yeah, cheers,” Lupin said and grabbed it. Sirius forced a smile. “Have a nice day,” Lupin gave a little wave, then went to pack up his groceries. 

Sirius bit down on his lip and willed himself not to think. Thinking could wait until he was picking out a dog with Harry. 

A couple of hours later, Sirius stood outside of Harry’s school. It felt as though he’d been working for days, even though the clock told him that it was indeed, only five hours. It had stopped raining, but the sky was still grey and there were puddles everywhere.

He wasn’t sure if he was allowed to actually step inside the school, so he opted for staying outside the gates and sneak a cigarette before Harry saw him. 

“PADFOOT!” Sirius’ eyes widened when he saw Harry running towards him. 

“Oh shit,” he hissed, then quickly stubbed out his cigarette. He crouched down and found himself smiling for real. “Hi, Prongslet!”

Harry flung himself onto Sirius, hugging him tightly. Sirius hugged back, rocking them back and forth for a few moments before standing upright again. 

“Are you excited about picking a dog for me?” he asked as he grabbed Harry’s hand and began walking towards the bus stop. 

“Yeah!” Harry did a small jump and grinned. A few splashes of water ended up on Sirius’ trousers, but he didn’t really mind. 

Sirius paid for their bus fare and sat down in the middle of the bus. Harry insisted on taking the window seat, and spent the entire ride with his nose pressed against the window, pointing out different buildings and people who were walking past. 

“Did you have a fun day at school?” Sirius asked once they were walking towards the dog rescue centre. It was impossible to talk to Harry on the bus, but he excitedly went into a retelling of his day.

“Me and Hermione drew a dragon and then we played football, and we’re writing a story and I’m gonna write about magic,” Harry rushed it out without even breathing, then he took a large breath and continued, “And I told my teacher that you were picking me up and she got really scared because she didn’t know what a Padfoot was, so she called Mummy and they talked for like an hour,”

“An hour?” Sirius asked, he knew that Harry was exaggerating, but he played along nonetheless. 

“Yeah,” Harry nodded. “It took forever,”

Sirius bit down a laugh as he pushed the door to the dog rescue centre open, then gestured for Harry to go first. 

The shelter was basically just a large room with fairly large individual “cages” with one or two dogs in each. There was a door leading to a separate room to the side, and a counter where a woman with bright blue hair was standing. She smiled warmly and waved at them. 

“Hello, are you here to adopt or just looking?” she asked.

“Just looking for now,” Sirius said. The woman gestured for them to go look, and Sirius grabbed Harry’s hand again so he wouldn’t run off and scare the dogs. 

They walked along the room, stopping at every dog so Harry could wave at them or give them a light pat, though Sirius didn’t feel like  _ adopting  _ any of them. They were all adorable and deserved a scratch behind the ear, but Sirius didn’t really…  _ Click _ . With any of them. (If he could even click with a goddamn dog.)

“What about that one?” Harry exclaimed  and tugged at Sirius’ hand, trying to drag him towards the back of the room. Harry was pointing somewhere, and Sirius quickly followed so he wouldn’t lose his balance. 

Harry stopped abruptly in front of a cage where a large, black, fluffy dog was laying, with its head resting on its front paws. It perked up when Sirius crouched down next to Harry, then stood up and walked towards them. It stuck out its nose and sniffed around, seemingly more interested in Sirius. 

Sirius smiled and stuck out his hand, letting the dog sniff and lick his fingers. And there it was, that click.

“I haven’t seen him this affectionate towards anyone since he came in,” Sirius whipped his head around. The blue haired woman stood there, her arms crossed and smiling widely. “He usually just lays there until we go out for walks, then he goes back,”

The dog kept bumping his nose against Sirius’ hand, then moved to Harry and did the same thing. Sirius stood up right, still smiling.

“What’s his name?” Sirius asked. 

“Snuffles,” the woman replied. Sirius crouched down again and scratched Snuffles’ head. “It’s a crossbreed between labrador, black retriever and german shepherd,”

“Hi Snuffles,” he said, then turned to Harry. “What do you think, Haz?”

“I like him,” Harry declared, burying his hands in the thick fur. 

“Me too,” Sirius nodded, turning to the woman again. “Can I come in later in the week for adoption and stuff?”

“Yeah, of course,” the woman said. “We probably need to check up on your living situation and stuff, but feel free to come in whenever,”

Sirius grinned and nodded, “What do you say, Snuffles, do you want to come home with me?”

Snuffles gave a small bark, wagging his tail. 

Well then, he was actually getting a dog.

 

***

 

The rest of the week was spent doing home visits and paperwork, and on Saturday, Sirius was walking towards the Potters’ with a dog.

Amidst the paperwork, Sirius barely noticed how boring his life was, and the decision to get a dog felt better and better. James even commented on the fact that Sirius looked excited, which he hadn’t said in a while.

Snuffles trotted excitedly in front of Sirius, stopping every few steps to smell at a garbage tin or a lamppost before he began walking again. 

The walk to the Potters’ was quite long, but Sirius wasn’t sure if he could take such a large dog on the bus and he needed the fresh air. And for the first time in what seemed like forever, Sirius didn’t actually mind walking, despite the cold wind whipping against his face.

It was the first time in a long time that Sirius sat at the table (they were having roti pizza today), genuinely excited and contributing to the conversation as he fed Snuffles small pieces of his crust. It was the first time in a long time that he sat on the floor, playing with Harry’s LEGO bricks because he wanted to, and not because he felt obligated to spend time with is godson. 

It was the first time in a long time that Sirius didn’t find himself waiting for the next Tuesday to come.

 

***

 

Sirius slumped down in his chair behind the register and scrubbed his hands over his face. He just came in from his smoke break, and he’d hoped that the cold air would wake him up a little, considering that he’d woken up at six in the morning to go on a walk with Snuffles before dropping him off with Lily, who was staying home with a sick Harry, but Sirius was still  _ knackered.  _

He needed to get someone else to dogsit, because Lily wouldn’t be home all the time, and Sirius couldn’t just leave Snuffles at home for eight hours.

Sirius yawned widely as he began scanning items. It was probably a big family who was shopping, because the items never seemed to stop coming. A man stepped up in front of the register and started fumbling with his wallet.

“Kids keeping you up?” he asked. 

 

“What?” Sirius frowned, then realized that he was 27 and probably looked like it too, which in the eyes of society meant that he obviously had kids. “Oh, no. I went on a two hour walk with my dog this morning,”

“Oh,” the man looked slightly disappointed for a split second before plastering a smile on his face. Maybe he wanted to rant about his own kids, or something. 

Sirius yawned again, “Anything else?” The man shook his head, “20.56, please,”

The man screwed his face up as he slotted his card into the machine, “Don’t get them — kids, I mean. They drain your bank account,”

Sirius snorted despite himself as he ripped the receipt from the machine, “Receipt?”

“Yeah, thanks,” the man grabbed the receipt, then went to pack up his groceries. 

Sirius yawned again. He wasn’t used to getting up at the arse crack of dawn. He usually slept until 8:30, got dressed as he brushed his teeth and pulled his hair up in a bun or ponytail, then walked as fast to the bus stop as his lungs would allow him, and arrived at Tesco five minutes late. He’d been doing that exact same thing since he moved into his flat, and now it was changed completely. 

Sirius scanned a chocolate bar, then looked up at the woman in front of him, “Anything else?”

“Yeah, a pack of Marlboro Reds, please,”

“ID?” Sirius asked, ready to stretch out for the cigarettes. The woman showed her ID, and Sirius nodded before handing her the packet of cigarettes. “12.19, please,”

The woman handed him the money and then walked away before he could even ask if she wanted her receipt.

Sirius glanced up at the clock out of habit, and realized that Lupin would be there any second. A small smile stretched upon his face. He’d almost forgotten how excited he was to see Lupin, but the thought of him still caused Sirius’ heart to skip a beat. 

_ Chicken, spinach, bags of mixed nuts... _

Sirius’ smile stretched even wider and he looked up, and there was Lupin, in all his glory. He was dressed in his usual joggers and zip-up hoodie, but he looked as good as he did that time Sirius saw him wearing slacks and a button down. 

“Back again, are we?” Sirius asked. Lupin smiled and nodded. 

“A man needs his nutrients,” 

Sirius studied the mix of foods that Lupin always bought. He took a deep breath, “Why do you eat so much chicken?”

Lupin chuckled, “Why don’t you come by Phoenix Fitness tomorrow after work and see for yourself?”

Sirius frowned but nodded. He’d never actually stepped foot in a gym before, he never really needed it. He had always been thin and sort of gangly, and he was short enough that it didn’t look awkward but tall enough that you could tell that he was, perhaps, a little too thin.

“Right,” Sirius cleared his throat. “8.47, please,”

Lupin smiled, paid, and accepted the receipt, as always. 

It wasn’t until he left that Sirius realized that he had been invited to see Lupin outside of work.

 

***

 

Sirius stood outside of Phoenix Fitness, his heart was beating hard in his chest and he was trying to calm his nerves with a cigarette. 

He had no idea what he was going to see once he entered the gym, he didn’t even know if he could go in there without a membership. 

Sirius took a drag from his cigarette before stubbing it out. He took a deep breath, then went inside and walked up to the receptionist.

“Uh, hey,” Sirius said and buried his hands in his hoodie pocket. “I’m here to meet a bloke, do I need like a membership or something?”

“What’s the bloke called?” the receptionist asked, sounding incredibly bored. Sirius’ mind blanked, and all he could think of was  _ Chicken man.  _

He worried his bottom lip between his teeth, “ _ Shit _ ,” he hissed. “I genuinely don’t remember. Uh…? Chicken man? He eats a lot of chicken?  _ Fuck,”  _

The receptionist stared at him with the most confused look she could muster. “Everyone here eats a lot of chicken, mate,”

Sirius snapped his fingers, searching for the name, “Right! Er, Lupin,”

The receptionist checked her computer, clicking obnoxiously loudly on the keyboard for a few moments as she muttered, “Remus Lupin…” under her breath. 

Oh, that was his first name. Sirius bit down a smile as the receptionist turned to him again, “He doesn’t have any sessions with anyone today,”

Sirius frowned.  _ Sessions?  _ He coughed awkwardly. “You sure? He told me to meet him here today,”

The receptionist sighed, “Fine. Take off your shoes and go through that door,”

Sirius nodded slowly and kicked his shoes off before walking through the door. 

The gym looked as he expected, with people running on treadmills and cycling on those fancy machines. There were people doing push-ups and lifting weights. 

And in the far back was Lupin, and  _ holy shit.  _ He was  _ ripped.  _

Lupin —or Remus, as the receptionist had said — was laying on a bench, lifting something that looked heavier then than Sirius. He was wearing the same joggers as usual and a tank top, showing off large muscles that flexed every time he lifted the barbell. His face was flushed from the strain and just… Holy fuck.

Sirius felt his jaw go slack as he just stood there and stared, and if his mouth hadn’t gone dry with nerves, he would’ve probably been drooling. Just a little bit. 

Remus let the barbell fall back down on its stand, and remained laying there on the bench, breathing heavily for a few minutes before sitting up and wiping his face with his tank top, showing off even more muscles. Sirius’ eyes met Remus’, and Sirius forced his mouth shut before waving awkwardly.

Remus smiled, stood up and began walking towards Sirius, and Sirius thought he was going to explode. 

“Hey,” Remus said. 

“Hey,” Sirius bit his lip and gestured around the gym. “So, you’re a weightlifter?”

“Bodybuilder, yeah,” Remus corrected. “And personal trainer,”

“You know, you never gave me your name. I would assume that you know mine from my name tag, but it’s a little unfair that I don’t know yours,” Sirius said, even though he did know his name. It would be a little strange if he just started calling Remus by his name without asking for it first.

Remus chuckled, “It’s Remus,”

“Well, hi Remus,” Sirius smiled. “I’m Sirius, nice to meet you properly.”

**Author's Note:**

> I REALLY HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED IT!!!
> 
> check out [ my tumblr ](https://confunded-gryffindor.tumblr.com/)  
> jenn's [ tumblr ](https://jennandblitz.tumblr.com/)  
> and purple's [ tumblr ](https://purplechimera8.tumblr.com/)
> 
> and rosie's tumblr is linked in the notes at the beginning!


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